Gabriel Pippet's and Maurice Josey's Mosaics at the Church of the Sacred Heart and St Catherine in Worcestershire, England

The Church of the Sacred Heart and St Catherine of Alexandria, located in Droitwich Spa in  Worcestershire, England, present a stunning example of the potential for mosaic work in contemporary church design. Mostly we tend to think of mosaics when we consider Byzantine and medieval Roman churches, with occasional interpolations here and there, perhaps some small bit of mosaic work found on  the face of an altar for example, or perhaps a scene restricted to a particular devotional space, but seldom do we have the privilege of encountering a church that has been fully furnished with a complete cycle of mosaics throughout the entire sacred space -- and one which is so classically oriented and ordered at that.  Sacred Heart and St. Catherine's is one such sacred space. 

This particular church was built in the early twentieth century, between 1919-1921, and in many regards the influences of the earlier Liturgical Movement -- with its Paleochristian interests -- are certainly in evidence here and, of course, if you cannot already tell, the church is also heavily influenced by the historic churches of Rome and Ravenna.

Prior to the installation of the mosaics, the church presented as a classic Roman basilica type. That particular iteration of the church can be seen here:

The church prior to the installation of its mosaics

The architectural 'bones' were all there of course, and various decorative approaches could have been taken, but we are thankful that the approach that was in fact taken was to engage the British artist, Gabriel Pippet (+1962) to design the full cycle of mosaics found here. The actual execution of the mosaics was done by the another British artisti, the mosaicist Maurice Josey (+1938). If the Roman and Ravenna comparisons seem incidental they are not; both men travelled to Rome and Ravenna to study the historical mosaics found there prior to completing their own works here. 

The entire project took twelve years to complete with over eight and a half tons of mosaic glass tesserae being imported from Venice to complete the task -- and the end result is simply stunning.  While we cannot show all of the incredible mosaics that can be found within this church, we hope this 'small' selection will give you a sense of the quality, beauty and nobility that can be found here.

Above the apse on the triumphal arch is a scene of the Resurrection

The apsidal mosaic features an image of Christ the King surrounded by palm trees and, beneath his feet, deer drinking from the Waters of Life. 

Along the nave on etiher side, we can find scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary found to the one side, and the life of local saint, St. Richard of Droitwich on the other.

St. Jacob

A Byzantine / Eastern Roman style capital also done by Gabriel Pippet, an accomplished carver.

St. Catherine of Alexandria

Above the choir gallery are depicted the Holy Trinity, the nine choirs of angels along with various founders of religious orders.

St. Matthew

Pentecost

St. Gregory Nazianzus and St. Ambrose

-------

Do you like Liturgical Arts Journal's original content? You can help support LAJ in its mission and vision to promote beauty in Catholic worship either by: 

Making a one-time donation or

Subscribing monthly/yearly 

You choose the amount! Your support makes all the difference.